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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

The last boring weeks of this summer term

45 replies

Penvelopesnightie · 22/06/2016 13:38

My dd is in year Ten but is really fed up with these last weeks . Some of the teachers have kind of stopped teaching and in a few subjects they are already watching tv, films, cutting and sticking projects . There is nothing interesting planned for the students for the next four weeks not even a sports day for year Tens this year . My Dd hayfever is awful and I think it would just be better if she finished school now like the year 11s and enjoyed the summer and got out during the day getting exercise or meeting friends and family .

OP posts:

Stillunexpected · 23/06/2016 20:56

Well, sorry but I think this is your particular school and not all schools are like that. DS2 is in Yr10 and is currently on a residential drama trip in London. Between now and end of term, they have Sports Day, both science and languages controlled assessments, a Drama CA to work on, some end of topic tests, a whole school trip, a Careers Day, a full day of PSHE activities and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. If I looked at the calendar I would probably find more things. They are also still having lessons as normal and the SLT would look very unfavourably on anyone who had finished teaching for the term already.

apple1992 · 23/06/2016 20:57

Ours are certainly not winding down, if anything, the intensity is full on!

MooPointCowsOpinion · 23/06/2016 21:01

Could be worse, they could be stuck doing godawful intervention and having to break their exams down question by question to see where they can improve. Yawn. ( I'm the teacher!)

Honestly, there are so many meetings, conferences, brainstorms going on for next year in my school I can't remember what half my classes even look like. Hopefully they've had a nice sub...

WankersHacksandThieves · 23/06/2016 21:05

Side question, do your's not go back to school after the exams if they are intending staying on at school? Or because they do their A levels elsewhere do they basically finish school on the day of their last exam?

WankersHacksandThieves · 23/06/2016 21:11

to give context, ours do National 5s at the end of 4th year (roughly year 11) and then can stay at school for one or two more years to do Highers/Advanced Highers for uni entry. They can go to Uni at the end of 5th year (roughly year 12) if they have the grades and most scottish uni degrees are 4 years rather than 3. Or they can stay on for an extra year and do more Highers/Nat 5s to widen their qualifications or do Advanced Highers which may mean they can skip year 1 of Uni.

There are obviously other things they can do such as leave school at the end of 4th year (or 5th or 6th year) and go to college or get a job or apprenticeship etc.

So, it means that if they are intending being in school after the summer holidays, they need to go back into school for up to a month, depending on when the holidays fall, before the school breaks up for summer.

My boss (based in England) thought it was weird that my DS was back in school after his exams, hence the question.

troutsprout · 23/06/2016 22:16

Dd's school's year runs from June to June. They all move up once the year 11's leave. So they don't have that end of year doing nothing thing.
She starts year 9 ( and GCSEs!) on Monday.

Badbadbunny · 24/06/2016 10:07

Dd's school's year runs from June to June. They all move up once the year 11's leave. So they don't have that end of year doing nothing thing.
She starts year 9 ( and GCSEs!) on Monday.

Sounds a much better idea - I wish our son's school did that rather than give up four weeks early.

It's hard trying to explain to my son why he still needs to get up at 6.45, leave the house by 7.15, walk a couple of miles, all to spend a few hours at school not actually doing anything productive (he can watch videos at home!), only to repeat the process finally coming up around 5pm, all for no apparent reason, them only having 1 or 2 lessons per day where the teachers tried to do anything with them.

There must be a better way. I do like the sound of moving up a year at the end of June, even if it's just for introductory lessons, handing out books, discussing what the next year entails, etc - it's all stuff that means September can start by hitting the ground running.

MissMillament · 25/06/2016 16:18

My Y10 class having been coming in every day for the last week asking hopefully 'Is it a fun lesson today, Miss? Can we watch a DVD?' The answer is always no! We have a lot of ground to cover before we break up in three weeks and I have a plan for every lesson. If your school is indeed giving up on proper teaching four weeks before the end of term then it does indeed have issues. That is not normal ime. My SLT would take a very dim view of a teacher in our school who did that.

cricketballs · 26/06/2016 12:52

I would be hung, drawn and quartered by SLT if I even thought of not teaching (especially KS4) productive lessons.

The problem we face (as other teachers on the thread have pointed out) is students being out with other subject's visits/trips/CA research geography looking at you, students missing due to family holidays, having to attend meetings with exam boards over new specs etc.

WankersHacksandThieves · 26/06/2016 13:04

Surely the point is that those students just have to suck it up and catch up? Why should the 20 kids in the class who don't get to have these alternate experiences not be taught anything so that the 10 who are missing don't miss out?

Meetings with exam boards and other important absences by teachers is fair enough.

cricketballs · 26/06/2016 13:46

"Why should the 20 kids in the class who don't get to have these alternate experiences not be taught anything so that the 10 who are missing don't miss out?"

they are not missing out as I said I continue to teach; what you quoted is a problem we face as some students are playing catch up, missing vital lessons

WankersHacksandThieves · 26/06/2016 13:51

I was talking about the OPs situation cricket where nothing is being taught and thought you were explaining why they wouldn't bother teaching.

Noodledoodledoo · 26/06/2016 14:02

The only reason I would not teach a lesson is if the absence level was too high to make it worthwhile. ie if 20 out of 30 students are on a Geography Field trip then I would use the lesson to go over other things - especially if its for a week, a day trip we might amalgamate classes to do something else.

If only 10 out of 30 are missing then its up to them to catch up.

I might give my Yr 10's a break this week, I start Mat leave on Thursday and they have a GCSE exam tomorrow morning - I only have one lesson with each of my classes between now and Thursday though.

My year 9's are still on full throttle.

Minime85 · 26/06/2016 18:47

I am fully teaching all classes from yr 7-10 until last week of term. Would not dream of doing other wise. Year 10 have spoken language assessment and at least one more timed exam practise and I'm afraid year 10 will be working up u til the last lesson. No formal written assessments now at ks3 but still working on skills, target practise speaking and listening etc.

antiqueroadhoe · 26/06/2016 20:59

I think English schools should finish next week like the Scottish do

But Scottish schools go back in mid-August?

WankersHacksandThieves · 26/06/2016 21:47

But Scottish schools go back in mid-August?

Yes we do. well sort off. This year we break up on Tuesday 28th June at lunchtime and go back on Tuesday 23rd August. All areas are slightly different though, some broke up on Friday and go back the week before us.

clary · 26/06/2016 22:13

That's a bit unfair We break up nearly a month after you (July 26) and go back to school just 2 weeks later (on Sept 5) grrrr

WankersHacksandThieves · 27/06/2016 00:02

I'm sure they get the same amount of holidays overall it's just spread differently. We get no time off at all between Easter and Summer - maybe the early May bank holiday and that's it. Some areas here have two weeks in October (to pick the tatties :o ) and only 6 weeks in the summer. One year we got 8 weeks as they'd stuffed up somewhere. It's fine unless, like us, both parents work and it's therefore expensive to fill all that time with childcare.

WankersHacksandThieves · 27/06/2016 00:05

This year DSs (now 15 and 14) have first week off to themselves, 2 weeks holiday as a family, 2 weeks to themselves (they were supposed to be on Scout camp but pulled out), then 2 weeks with DH who has some parental leave and he'll take them camping for a bit I think and maybe a few days visiting family, then a week with me away on holiday again then back to school. We are aware that family holidays are numbered now so squeezing in a few this year.

Badbadbunny · 29/06/2016 19:12

Well, my son is on his second week of just watching DVDs and reading his reading book in English Lessons as the teacher is either not there on some lessons (and hasn't left any work for them) or is there but busy marking and ignoring the pupils. Son came home today and said that the teacher has told them he's away on a trip all next week, so to make sure they take out a new book from the library to read during the lessons he's missing. I think it sounds time to email the dept head - it's getting beyond a joke!

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